1 day Ago
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday a major expansion of the military’s operation in Gaza involving the seizure of large areas of land that would be “incorporated into Israel’s security zones.” The operation would also involve “large-scale evacuation of Gaza’s population from combat zones,” the statement said without specifying details. Katz said the military operation would expand to “crush and clear the area of terrorists and terror infrastructure, while seizing large areas that will be incorporated into Israel’s security zone.
” The Israeli military’s spokesperson for Arabic media late on Tuesday issued an evacuation order to residents in Gaza’s southern Rafah area, ordering them to move north. Last month, an Israeli official and a second source familiar with the matter told CNN that Israel was making plans for a potential major ground offensive in Gaza that would involve sending tens of thousands of troops into combat to clear and occupy large swaths of the enclave. Katz’s statement on Wednesday did not specify whether additional Israeli troops would be involved in the expanded operation.
This is a developing story and will be updated..
